Climbing in the Needles, South Dakota. [via]
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Climbing in the Needles, South Dakota. [via]

Pic I took of a bomber anchor on The Finger of Fate, The Titan, Fisher Towers, UT.
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Pic I took of a bomber anchor on The Finger of Fate, The Titan, Fisher Towers, UT.

How to Build Your Own Cam

This is an interesting forum thread on Mountain Project. A kid is making a cam in his shop class. I don’t think he plans on using it or anything, but it’s a fun project to keep track of, and the guy who’s building the cam updates the thread regularly.

Me yesterday on top of Ancient Art for the second time. I love living 4 hours from Moab. Three photos were stitched together for this pic.
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Me yesterday on top of Ancient Art for the second time. I love living 4 hours from Moab. Three photos were stitched together for this pic.

The Latest SuperTopo Newsletter

Climbing guidebook publisher SuperTopo sends out a monthly newsletter and the latest one just came out. It links to the site’s best trip reports, forum posts, and gear reviews from the past month. Definitely worth a look.

How to Make Your Own Rope Hook

I use and love Metolius Rope Hooks for rope management on multi-pitch routes and I recently came across a picture of a homemade rope hook:

The photo is from Mountain Project user Gregger Man and he also describes how he made it:

Bandsaw or hacksaw a 1” slice off a 4” PVC pipe. Cut at 12:00 and 2:00. Drill a 1/2” hole for the biner at 11:00. This one is ~60 grams and holds 50 lbs without breaking, so it could be lightened up significantly by drilling more holes.

Pretty slick, eh?

The Vertical Limit Guide to Climbing. This video is a classic.

Here are 10 more photos from my various adventures of the past few years. Click on each one for the larger version and a caption. Other sets of my photos are here.

New Route Potential #8: A small, rocky island off of Urup (an island north of Japan but claimed by Russia) [Source]
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New Route Potential #8: A small, rocky island off of Urup (an island north of Japan but claimed by Russia)
[Source]

My Book Is Here!

I’m super psyched to announce that my newest ebook is here! It’s called 101 Rock Climbing Tips and Tricks, and it’s $2.99 on Amazon.

It’s a Kindle ebook, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Once you buy it, you can read it in your browser, on your Mac or Windows PC, or on a bunch of other devices (including iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone, and Android phone/tablet).

I’ve been climbing for 16 years and have done over 200 first ascents, including the second longest sport route in the US. I’ve climbed thousands of pitches, and this book is the distillation of that climbing knowledge and experience. And it’s only $2.99!

Go check out the book now.

And it would be great if you’d share the book on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and wherever else you hang out online :)

Pics from some climbing I did today in Little Cottonwood Canyon near Salt Lake City. We did a 5-pitch route and a 2-pitch route, both of which were good, fun, and moderate.

Wow. What a tower. Grand Sentinel, a 400-foot tower in Banff National Park. There’s a 5.8 route on it. [Source]
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Wow. What a tower. Grand Sentinel, a 400-foot tower in Banff National Park. There’s a 5.8 route on it. [Source]

Trip Report: First Ascent of One of the Steepest Big Walls in the World

And it’s in Venezuela, is 21 pitches long, and climbs behind a waterfall. This is a great new trip report, complete with tons of awesome photos.

Happy Birthday to Chuck Pratt, Pioneering Yosemite Climber

Tom Frost, Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt and Yvon Chouinard on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley at the end of the first ascent of the North America Wall route.

^ Photo: (L to R) Tom Frost, Royal Robbins, Chuck Pratt and Yvon Chouinard on the summit of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley at the end of the first ascent of the North America Wall route.

Yosemite climbing legend Chuck Pratt died in 2000, but he would have been 73 today, March 5.

Chuck Pratt’s notable climbs (links to go beta and photos of each route):

  • 1958 - FA of North Face of Fairview Dome, Tuolmne Meadows, CA
  • 1959 - FA of East Face of Washington Column (later renamed Astroman), Yosemite, CA
  • 1959 - FA of North Face of Middle Cathedral Rock, Yosemite, CA
  • 1960 - Second ascent of The Nose, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
  • 1961 - FA of the Salathé Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA
  • 1963 - FFA of Kor-Ingalls on Castleton Tower, Utah
  • 1964 - FA of South Face of Mt. Watkins, Yosemite, CA
  • 1964 - FA of North American Wall, El Capitan, Yosemite, CA

In his obituary of Pratt, Yosemite climbing patriarch Royal Robbins called him “The best climber of our generation, and the best climbing writer as well.”

[Source]

Here are 10 more photos from my various adventures of the past few years. Click on each one for the larger version and a caption. Other sets of my photos are here and here.